Issued June 01, 2017
WASHINGTON—SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement on President Trump’s announcement that he is planning to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement:
“SEIU members and our communities, cities and states nationwide, and corporations that want to do the right thing have embraced the Paris Climate Agreement. Each of us are already taking action to limit the toxic greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. This bad decision by President Trump won’t stop us from continuing the work we have already started. In the absence of leadership from a president who chooses the profits of corporate polluters over the needs of working families, those of us already fighting for change – especially on the city and state level - will be instrumental to building an America and a planet where every community can thrive.
“By withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, President Trump and his self-interested political allies are killing the creation of new industries and jobs that could give communities the boost they need to thrive in favor of corporate polluters who want to pad their bottom line on the health of our communities. Already, in the United States, clean energy jobs vastly outnumber fossil fuel jobs, with solar and wind energy at the forefront. SEIU members recognize the importance of these jobs for families that rely on them and we will fight for a just transition.
“A contingent of SEIU members traveled to Paris and brought this message to negotiators. The record number of countries that signed on to this agreement heard them, but today their own government is not hearing them.
“SEIU members and our families live with the realities of climate change every day. Our healthcare providers care for children with asthma and pregnant women with Zika. Our neighborhoods have been destroyed by disasters like wildfires and droughts in the west, floods in the central plains, and Superstorm Sandy in the east. And our communities are disproportionately likely to suffer from air and water pollution, as we saw in Flint. The Paris Climate Agreement would help mitigate further temperature increases and lessen the impact of climate change that causes these catastrophes.